Problem: Add. $5.3 + 8.1 =$
Answer: There are many ways to solve this problem. Let's see two ways we can solve it. Place value table Let's line up the numbers by their decimal places. Ones $.$ Tenths ${5}$ $.$ ${3}$ $8$ $.$ ${1}$ Now, let's add each place value column. Tens Ones $.$ Tenths ${{5}}$ $.$ ${3}$ $+$ ${8}$ $.$ ${1}$ $\underline{~~~~}$ $\underline{~~~~}$ $\underline{~~~~}$ $\underline{~~~~}$ $1$ $3$ $.$ $4$ Decomposing the numbers We can group the whole numbers together and the decimals together. $\begin{aligned} &({5} + {8}) + ({0.3} + {0.1})\\\\ &={13} + {0.4}\\\\ &=13.4 \end{aligned}$ $5.3 + 8.1= 13.4$